Faded Clouds
by ActualTwilight
Summary: And he looked down just in time to see a single white feather float to the ground..." AU, set in the Twilight time frame.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the ideas.**

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The city lights barely illuminated the street, and the poster covered windows of the small music shop did not let much light out onto the street as a mother and her child dodged the silver car sitting on the corner. Finally reaching the sidewalk, the woman easily jumped up onto the curb and threw open the door of the store, a jingling ringing through the air as the woman rushed inside. Her daughter was a few steps behind her, jumping up and seeming to float onto the sidewalk before slipping through the space the door allowed before shutting behind her, almost falling over as she tried to catch her balance.

The man at the counter looked up from the newspaper he was reading before taking another sip of cold coffee and looking down again, assured they were no threat. Just a young mother with a child who looked like the type that was too timid to make trouble. No problem at all. The young man who was looking through the CD's hadn't even looked up when the bell had jingled, and continued to ignore the pair, his hair falling into his face as he rifled through row after row of music. He tuned out the muttering of the mother, not even noticing the silent child.

Assuring her daughter that this wouldn't take long, she rushed through the aisles, searching for something that the small dark haired girl wasn't quite sure of. Knowing that it would take longer than her mother said it would, and that it would be increasingly dull to just stand there, she walked slowly down the nearest row, her head barely reaching the first shelf. After several small stumbles she turned the corner and stopped dead, staring openly at the young man standing there, who had momentarily stopped flipping through the CD's. The sharp pull she had to him was rather odd, since the three year old had only ever felt attached to her mother, and even then not very much so. She was always more of a loner, and had never really gotten attached to anything. But the pull only got sharper when he turned to look at her, but it soon stopped as she looked back at him, eyes meeting.

The young man with the odd coloured hair and eyes had only ever looked over at the child when he'd felt a strange tugging sensation in his chest, and had turned to see a toddler with long, dark hair and large brown eyes, who was staring at him. The odd sensation stopped, and he gave her a small smile, to which she gave a small curtsy. He opened his mouth to say something when her mother called from the door, having purchased what she came for and eager to leave. The child skipped past him, giving a small wave before disappearing through the door. The boy looked down out of impulse just in time to see a single white feather hit the ground…


	2. Green

The scenery flashed by at a rate only fast enough to blur the colours together, which shifted through shades of green like a pattern. The sky was overcast, as I had been assured it would usually be, and a thin mist hung softly over the trees.

The taxi I was sitting in turned down a road, a few houses on each side. After a moment we were past those as well, and the scenery changed back to the blend of green that seemed to be everywhere in this little town. A moment later a small gray house appeared through the mist, and if the there had been fog it would have been near impossible to see. I turned my head and looked out the rear window, and as I had expected the houses nearest to us weren't visible. I turned back around in time to see the front of the house before the taxi came to a stop. Nodding a word of thanks I got out, only turning to drop the correct amount of money into his hands before heading towards the trunk.

With some effort I managed to get both of my suitcases out, and the second the trunk slammed shut the taxi drove off, disappearing into the damp gray. Turning back to the small house I glared at it for a moment before sighing and fishing the key out of my pocket. I took two steps towards the door before I stumbled, nearly making impact with the front steps but managed to catch myself. This didn't improve my mood any, and I carefully made my way up the steps and to the front door, leaving my suitcases abandoned in the drive way.

The key turned noisily in the lock, giving a high pitched creaking noise that made me flinch before it swung open. The dark hallway was completely straight, an opening on both the right and left sides and what looked like stairs straight ahead. I held my breath and listened hard, but heard nothing in the house. I let out my breath and removed the key from the lock, sticking it back in my pocket. I turned around to get my things from the driveway, but my foot caught on the rug and I tripped, landing heavily on the wooden floor with a thud.

With a hiss I got back up, shaking myself a bit before peering outside. There was no sign of people there, and it wasn't possible that the house could be seen from the street, let alone the other houses. I shrugged off my jacket, letting it fall to the floor as the familiar sensation rushed through me, and I reveled in the feeling of the weight on my back while the rest of me felt lighter. I sighed in relief before stepping outside, the cool air hitting me as I made my way back down the drive way. Now the suitcases didn't feel heavy at all, and I slung my carryon over my shoulder and picked up a suitcase in each hand. My balance was much better now, and I kicked the door shut behind me while placing the cases on the floor, letting my other bag slide off my shoulder.

The hallway itself seemed much brighter now, and I could see that the room that branched off to the right was a kitchen, the one on the left being a living room. Curious, I made my way into the kitchen, which was painted a cheery yellow and had several mismatched chairs. I bent down and opened the fridge, pleased that it was working. Another door branched off near the back of the kitchen, and it opened to reveal a laundry room, the washer and drier rather new. I padded over to the living room, where a threadbare sofa was facing a small television, and I made a face. The television probably wouldn't be used, and it bothered me that it was wasting space in the house, as well as driving up the electricity bill.

The upstairs wasn't very exciting; one bathroom and two bedrooms. I would only use one of the rooms, and I chose the one with a large window and the blue walls. A desk was on one side of the room, a bed on the other. The small closet would have plenty of space for my meager number of clothes, as well as enough space for the suitcases.

Deciding that I should unpack and probably go grocery shopping, I stepped back into the hall and caught my reflection in the hallway mirror. I looked at the sharp angles of my face, pale skin and red lips, and grinned at my pure black eyes. With a soft ruffle the dark golden brown feathers came into view of the mirror, and I smiled at the wings that were set on my back. I folded them against my back again, the feathers brushing the ground as I walked down the stairs. Picking up the suitcases with ease, I deposited them back into my room before heading out the front door.

After a moments thought I remembered where the grocery store was, and I debated whether or not to fly there. Deciding I'd rather not call another taxi and that I wasn't quite ready to part with my wings again, I beat them quickly and rose into the air with ease. After rising above the clouds and out of sight it took no time at all to land in the forest that bordered the store, as it did everything else in this town.

The parking lot was near empty, the only cars filling it looking as if they were either ancient or about to fall to pieces. I wrinkled my nose at them before shutting my eyes and twisting my neck to the side as the familiar pain of the bones in my face shifted back into the more human look, and the wings on my back retreated to their non-existent state. The colours and sounds dimmed as I did so, and a sigh escaped me. I ran a hand through my hair before stepping out of the forest and into the bleak parking lot.

The doors slid open with a slight creaking noise and the warmth of the grocery store hit me in a wave, and a bright red sign welcoming me to Robert's Groceries hanging from the ceiling. With a bit of effort I managed to dislodge a shopping cart out of the mess of others that covered the floor space of a lonely corner. Pushing it into the main part of the store, I discovered that unfortunately there were several humans in the store, more so then I had thought, and they all turned to look at me as I passed. A blush raced across my cheeks like wildfire as I caught their eyes following my every movement. In a town such as this, everyone knew everyone and I was obviously an outsider. I tried to gather what I needed as quickly as possible, and I finally found an aisle empty of people.

After dropping a box of cereal into the cart I headed towards the freezer section, and I caught my reflection in one of the glass doors. I stared at the round faced, wide eyed girl that stared back at me, complete with red cheeks and flat brown eyes. I glared at her, curling my lips back to show my teeth, which weren't sharp looking in the least. Letting my lip fall back I just shot the reflection another glare before turning and stomping towards the checkout, only having added the essentials to my cart. I could get the rest later. The lady at the checkout smiled warmly at me, and I did my best to smile back.

"You must be new here, I haven't seen you around." She said cheerily, and I gave her a quick nod. "I'd suggest you get some warmer clothes, you'll freeze in that shirt you're wearing." I looked down to see what she meant, and realized that I hadn't brought a jacket to hide the fact that my shirt was almost completely backless. "It's not going to get any warmer for quite a few months."

"I'll be sure to do that." I assured her, paying and snatching up the bags before quickly heading for the door.

"See you around!" She called after me, and I ignored her as I stumbled into the cold.

I stood in front of the store for a moment, just staring out into the rain, hoping I could handle living here for a while. I had never lived in a small town such as this, where everyone knew everyone and nothing was private. The best thing I could do was to try and stay unnoticed, and hope that no one took a notice of me. At least there was plenty of forest I thought bleakly, looking out into the dark green woods. That brightened my outlook a bit, until I realized I had to go to school the next day.

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**Hope you enjoyed. I promise that more will be explained soon, but I will say that Bella is not human and not a vampire either. Why would she be in a grocery store otherwise?**

**Reviews are enjoyed. ;)**

**Lily  
**


	3. Sunshine

_I opened my eyes  
And watched the sunshine  
It had been out all night  
To relax and unwind_

_-Sunshine by Sparklehorse  
_

I stalked through the house otherwise silent house, not at all happy about the fact that I would have to go to school, a human school, of all places in just a few hours. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around all day surrounded by lazy humans who either didn't pay any attention at all or far too much. That and I would have to be a clumsy human and ever so breakable every time I was there, which was never a good combination, especially with my luck. If I fell over or smacked into a tree while I was in my complete state it wouldn't a problem; I would just dust myself off and continue on my way. But if I did as a human, I had a much higher chance of breaking something, my fragile human bones not doing much to help the fact.

I passed the large window in my room and stopped for a moment to look outside. It looked almost exactly the way it had the day before, dreary, bleak and gray. The sky seemed to be much lower here than it had been in Arizona, where the almost constant sunshine kept everything at sweltering temperatures. I shifted my wings at the memory, almost being able to feel the sunshine that had warmed my back so nicely. Here the thick cloud cover kept the moisture in and everything rather cool, not the most sought after conditions, and I snatched a jacket out of a suitcase and stuck it in my school bag as to not forget it. No reason to freeze if I could prevent it.

The kitchen didn't look quite as cheery as it had the day before, the yellow now looking rather dim and old. I foraged around for something to eat, than remembered the cereal that I had bought yesterday. Finding it wasn't a problem, but finding the bowl on the other hand was a different story. After searching through the cabinets I could reach, I hovered for a moment to open the cupboard above the stove. Sure enough, there were the bowls. I grabbed one before dropping lightly to the ground, telling myself that I probably should move them at some point.

Breakfast passed quickly, no newspaper, music or another person there to distract me. Glancing at the clock, I realized that if I didn't leave soon I wouldn't get to school on time to get my schedule. The idea of skipping the first day was tempting, but in a small town like this it probably wouldn't be the best idea. The students would think that I was a rebel, be interested in me, and then would try and talk to me. I wrinkled my nose at the thought, not wanting to have anymore interaction with the humans then necessary. And if I got the teachers to trust me now, I could get away with the occasional absence later.

I slipped on a light pair of waterproof boots before dropping my messenger bag over my head, the only type of backpack that I could still fly properly with. The door creaked open again, and I scolded myself for not buying something to fix it with. The horrid noise that it made always struck pain through my head, and I knew I would regret not fixing it sooner.

I glanced up to see that the clouds had thinned just the slightest bit, foreshadowing the sunshine that was said to come later that day. Not quite sure if that would actually be the case I looked a bit harder, but saw no evidence of the clouds fading anytime soon. It seemed as if I would have to get used to them after all, otherwise living in this place would be absolutely unbearable.

After lifting off I skimmed above the trees, feathers occasionally brushing against the leaves as I flew to school. The thought that I should probably buy a vehicle of some kind occurred to me, since it would look odd if I didn't own a car or a motorbike or something. As I pondered this problem the school came into view, and I let myself fall through the trees to land with quiet thump on the soft ground. I shook the leaves out of my hair and shifted with a tinge of pain. As I made my way towards the road, I put on my jacket and stuffed my hands into my pockets, keeping my head low as I entered the parking lot, doing my best to try and be unnoticed.

I got through the full parking lot and to the office I needed to get to without a problem. A human with too much makeup on and wispy hair sat at the desk, chattering away on the phone, only looking up when the door shut behind me. She looked startled for a moment before saying her goodbyes and slamming the phone onto the receiver, still gawking at me. For a moment I thought that maybe I'd forgotten to change completely and that maybe my eyes were still completely black and my face a bit longer then it should be. But when she smiled at me and I realized that my senses were still dimmed, I was reassured that I looked normal.

"You must be Miss Isabella Swan!" She chirped happily, beaming at me as I stepped forward. I nodded, and she hurriedly pulled papers out of a folder and put it onto the counter before motioning me forward. "Welcome to Forks High School!" She said merrily, and I gave a small smile before looking down at the papers. "So this is your schedule, and here is a map of the school." She handed me an obnoxious orange sheet with boxes drawn on it, a little number in each. "So your first class is here-" She pointed at a box marked with the number 18 with a pink plastic nail. "And after that I'm sure you'll make a friend and they can help you get to your next class."

"Oh, I'm sure I will." I replied, sarcasm bleeding into my voice. She took no notice, and continued to blabber on about school activities and such that I should attend.

It bothered me more than it should that she was automatically positive that I would make a friend in my first class. I knew the likelihood of the happening was slim, since if I hadn't made a friend up until now, the chances of me making one in the first hour of being at this new school would not be very high. I was fine with being a loner, and would be fine with it for a long time to come. I tuned back in to what the woman was saying just in time to hear her talk about the dances they were having.

"And the next dance will be quite a smash I've heard." She said, and at that point I stopped her.

"I really must get to class." I told her with a fake smile. "I wouldn't want to be late."

"Oh, I do apologize for keeping you." She said, looking a bit flustered. "You wouldn't want to be late on your first day now would you?"

"No, I wouldn't." I replied, sticking the papers in my bag and turning to leave.

"Have a nice day!" She called after me, and I ignored her as I walked into the now crowded hall.

My first reaction was to panic, as I was surrounded by hundreds of humans who I had never met before, talking excitedly about their weekends as they hurried to class. I was bumped several times, and I flinched and would try to jump back every time it happened, hating being touched by a complete stranger. I got a hold of myself and glanced down at the map before I started to weave through the masses of people, trying to get there as soon as I could. I didn't actually care about getting there, I would go just about anywhere if it meant I could get out of this throng of people.

I finally found the door I was looking for and burst in to be met with a near empty classroom. The teacher and a few tired looking students were in the class, and they all turned to stare at me as I stumbled in. The blood rushed to my cheeks, and I headed towards the teacher, handing him my schedule.

"I just transferred here." I told him. "Is there anywhere you'd like me to sit?"

"Miss Swan, correct?" He said sharply, and I nodded. "The only empty desk is the one next to the one in the back corner. Please do not use that as an advantage and fool around during class." He told me sternly before looking back down at the papers he was grading. I gave his a harsh look before going back to my seat, tripping into it.

Moments later the classroom filled up with students, and even after the bell rang the seat on my right was unoccupied. I found this odd since the teacher had said this was the only empty seat in the class. I ignored this, just as I tried to ignore the girl on my left. She had come in reeking of some sort of drug, sat down, and promptly passed out.

_What a way to start your day, passed out in English class. _I thought to myself as the teacher started to ramble on about what book we would be reading the next few weeks. I zoned out, staring off into space for a while before I felt eyes on me. I looked at the teacher, who hadn't given me a second glance since he'd told me to sit here, and I turned my head to see a blonde boy staring at me. When he caught me looking he smiled broadly and waved, and I just turned back towards the teacher, attempting to ignore him. I wasn't interested in speaking to anyone, and from the looks of it he didn't just want to talk.

As soon as the bell rang the girl who had been passed out woke up and stumbled out of the room in a dazed fashion, and before I could manage to follow her the boy who I had caught staring appeared behind me, a grin on his boyish face.

"Hi, you must be Isabella! I'm Mike!" He said with a bright voice, several tones too high to be considered that of a man.

"Bella." I corrected automatically, and he looked at me in confusion. "I go by Bella." A look of comprehension crossed his face.

"Oh, that makes sense. It's easier then everyone calling you Isabella I can imagine, which even though it's a nice name sounds really formal. Do you need help finding your next class?" I stared at him for a moment, not sure if this boy was mentally sound or not considering at the speed he was talking and what came out of his mouth. Hadn't he ever heard of transitions?

"Just tell me how to get to the Spanish room and I'll be fine." I told him, glancing down at the orange map in my hands.

"You're going to Spanish class? That's right next to my math class!" He said happily. "I'll walk you there!" I tried to refuse him but he had already grabbed my arm and was towing me down the hall. I shook him off, which didn't seem to faze him in the least, and followed him towards the Spanish room. After introducing myself to the teacher I was assigned the seat next to a girl with dyed blonde hair who was loudly smacking her gum. The minute bell rang, and Mike, who had chattering away non-stop for the last few minutes left. As soon he was out the door the girl next to me turned to stare at me.

"Okay new girl, I don't know who you think you are but you will not steal Mike from me." She said in a nasally voice, and I resisted the urge to cringe at the sound of it. "He's mine, and I'm not giving him up, and you better listen to me because I'm the most popular girl in school. Maybe you've heard of me, Lauren Mallory?" I stared at her with a blank face and she scoffed. "You're probably not smart enough." She huffed. "Anyways, you stay away from him. And don't try anything, or else."

"What made you think that I would go after him in the first place? Or that you could order me around?" I retorted, deciding that I hated her already.

"Well, cause I'm just a lot cooler then you. Food chain, duh." She said, and I snorted. She knew nothing about the food chain, and if she did she'd be running away screaming at the moment. My kind was nearly at the top of the food chain, and definitely not someone like this Lauren girl. If natural selection still had played any part in deciding who survives and who doesn't, she would have been long gone. I smirked at the thought, and it got me through the rest of the class. When class ended she gave me one of those 'I'm watching you' looks that nearly made me fall out of my chair in amusement.

I made it through the next two classes without any problems, and strangely enough was usually seated next to an empty desk. This puzzled me slightly, since I wasn't quite sure what the point to that was. It wasn't as if they could tell that I was a threat, because otherwise they would have surely kicked me out by now. Unfortunately that was not the case, and I had to stay.

I had followed the crowds into the lunch room, and after standing in line for quite a while I got my lunch, then stood stupidly in the middle of the cafeteria, searching for an empty table. I found one that was completely deserted in the back corner, and without caring why no one sat there I made my way over and put my tray down, letting my backpack slide to the floor. I sat with my back facing the wall, and was able to see if anyone was coming from all sides now. This reassured me some, and if I had my wings I would have shuffled them smugly.

I made it through the rest of the day easily, excluding the gym class I had at the end of the day. I had already gotten some strange looks from the girls in the changing rooms when they saw that I wore a tightly fitted short sleeved shirt that was for the most part backless, and were even more so when they saw that I didn't take it off, but merely put my gym shirt over it. I didn't see what they found so odd about it, but apparently it was a very strange thing to do.

But I could have cared less what they thought, and was the first out of the class as soon as the final bell rang. I managed to trip right before I got to the forest, scraping up my knee quite a bit. I winced at the stinging it produced, and as soon as I got into the safety of the trees dark shadows I pulled off my jacket and after a moment of brief concentration I saw everything come into focus, the colours becoming sharper and the sounds of mice scurrying across the forest floor reaching my ears. The smell of the cars in the parking lot hit me as well, but that thought was quickly shoved away as the bones in my face cracked, my jaw getting longer with a few painful cracks. Next were the wings, forcing themselves from my back and then opening with a soft breeze. I grinned, stretching luxuriously as the sunlight filtered through the trees.

This surprised me, and I looked up to see that the clouds had faded and the sunlight was able to come through the trees now. I smiled widely, picking up my bag and taking off, weaving through the trees until I came to my house, where I dropped my bag on the front step before rushing back into the forest.

The colours looked so much more vivid in the sunlight, the many different shades of green revealed when the light shone on them. But I would have time to marvel over them later, at the moment I just wanted to dose in the sunshine. I made my way through the forest behind my house, trying to find a place free of trees or something. Deciding that searching over the ground wasn't the fastest way to do it, and I took to the skies and rushed towards the ocean, the salty smell guiding me.

And sure enough, just as I had predicted there was a tiny clearing near the ocean, free of trees and full of sunlight. I let myself fall back onto the grass, wings stretched out completely, barely fitting into the clearing I had found. I stared up at the sky, sighing happily as I lay in the warm sun. In the distance I thought I heard high, bell like laughter, but it disappeared as soon as it came and I relaxed, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean in the blissful warmth of the sun.

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**So here is the newest chapter, and the longest one by far. :) I hope this answers a few more questions, and I assure you that the Cullens will make an appearance soon. :D**

**Hope you enjoyed it, please review!**

**~Lily**


	4. Disarray

_Struggling between the facts and fiction I'm alone  
But I'm alive  
Everyone around me is trying to make a statement  
Then there's me  
I'm just trying to survive_

_-Disarray, Lifehouse  
_

I sat perched on my roof like a massive gargoyle, watching the sun force its way through the clouds. From the looks of it, it would be overcast again by lunch, which meant that I wouldn't be able to relax in the sunshine like I had all of the previous week. I made a face, a bit put out that I would not be able to get a good dose of sunshine for who knows how long. From what I'd heard about this town sunshine was very rare, even in the summer, where it would just be vast amounts of humid, but not an ounce of sunshine. It could rain here for weeks straight, and it wasn't common for months to go by without a bit of sunshine to stop the gloominess from driving everyone mad. I was surprised by how well the people here seemed to manage without it, because I knew that if I was stuck here to long I would either become depressed or suicidal. But I guessed if this was all you'd ever known, then it wouldn't be too horrible. Can't miss what you've never had, eh? The sun managed to creep through the clouds now, as if to contradict my earlier thoughts, and danced across the dewy grass, sending it into a fit of sparkles and small rainbows.

I stretched out my wings, the gold tint revealing itself in the morning light and shone beautifully in the rays. After a moment of enjoying the weak warmth I shot a glance at my watch, which informed me that it would be a good time to leave for school. With a sigh I bid goodbye to the sun and made my way back to the prison I would be confined to for the next few months.

It had been a week since I had gotten here, and so Monday had rolled around once again. The initial curiosity that everyone had had dimmed by now, most of the girls who had always looked at me so strangely in the locker room before gym because of my backless shirts now had stopped asking why I always wore them and the boys stopped trying to talk to me. Yet there were some that still chased after me like I was a new toy, something that had yet to lose its initial interest. Mike was one of them, the silly boy with blonde hair who still had an obsession with trying to give the best golden retriever imitation, and I had yet to get the message through his head that I wanted him to just leave me alone. No matter how much I ignored him that first week, he would always come back to try and befriend me.

But it was a plus that he seemed to have his own friends at lunch, where Lauren sent me glares whenever I walked in and then continued to dote on Mike. I simply got my lunch and would retreat to the back table, where I could see everything that was going on in the lunch room and went largely unnoticed. No one had ever tried to sit with me, and I never attempted to sit with anyone else. This left me alone to my thoughts or unfinished homework, whichever I deemed more important at the time being. It took a bit of practice, but I soon managed to block out the chatter of the children around me and concentrate on my own thoughts.

Everything was going well in school, but one thing that still puzzled me was that the seat next to me in most of my classes still went empty, even when all of the teachers had said that my seat was the only open one in class, or that I would be sitting next to some boy whose name I'd already forgotten. I figured that he was probably some slacker who didn't think that there was anything wrong with skipping classes for weeks at a time, a habit I had thought about picking up. It seemed very tempting to just leave and skive off of all of my classes, but I did not want to go back through high school later in life, when I still looked like I was the same age as the others, but in reality was a good forty or so years older then they were. If I thought they were horrid little youngsters now, it would be all the worse later.

Which brought me back to the thoughts of the vanished boy who was supposed to be in most of my classes. I hadn't heard anything about him, so I suppose that disappearing for weeks at a time was normal for him. I wasn't complaining about his absence though, because if he was never there it meant that I always had an extra seat, and the additional room pleased me. I hated the feeling of being closed in, and when the school already felt like a prison it was nice to take comfort in the fact that I had plenty of space to myself while stuck there.

My first four classes passed without consequence, the desk beside me still empty and the teachers still a bit wary of me. The teachers had the sense to be distrustful, unlike the students who liked to spread rumors and tease me when they thought I wasn't listening. Their instincts had pretty much gone out the window, or perhaps they had just fried their brains because of all the television they watched and the horrid music they blasted straight into their ears. Anyways, the adults for once had the better instincts to be cautious, realizing that something was off about me. It made me feel better that they were nervous around me, that they somehow knew how quickly the tables could turn. I was still gloating at this fact, especially since the math teacher had given me such a fearful look before rushing out of the class, as I walked into the cafeteria.

I automatically knew something was off when I entered the room, my muscles tensing up and the hair on the back of my neck rising as I felt a slight pull in my chest. My eyes scanned the room quickly before landing at the table that I had sat at for the last week. I froze in shock at what I saw there, not at all expecting other Halflings to be going to this school.

For at the table sat five impossibly beautiful people, all pale white and almost radiating danger. _Vampires._ My senses screamed at me, telling me to head my earlier words on how quickly the tables could turn, how quickly they would be able to dispatch me in this state, and I quickly turned towards the doors that lead outside, my fight or flight instincts kicking in. I was about to dash towards my escape but realized that I would have to pass them to get there, and would only attract attention if I tried to head back where I came from.

So I decided that acting like I hadn't noticed them was the best plan of action. As I stepped into the lunch line my mind raced at the realization that I had picked a town that housed a coven of vampires of all creatures. I knew that they probably wouldn't recognize what I was since it had been a long time since there had been a war of the races, and that surely all the vampires who had fought then hadn't had the control to change others or pass on their knowledge. This should have relaxed me, but my hands still gripped the tray tightly as I exited the line. I tried to calm myself; the average human wouldn't react so strongly to the presence of vampires, especially when they were as far away as they were at the moment. If anything they might be uncomfortable when they were in close proximity to them, but never from a good ten meters away. My eyes scored the room for an empty table, and my heart dropped as I found it.

Karma didn't seem to like me at the moment, since the only empty table was a few down from the one where the vampires were seated, with one side facing a wall. To get there I would have to pass them, something I was not keen on doing. If possible I would avoid them, for I knew I was no match for five vampires, especially the ones who had the control to go to school with hundreds of human teenagers. Such control wasn't common, and I feared what type of damage they could inflict, especially since they were known as the most dangerous of our kind. They lived the longest, were the strongest, fastest, and hardiest of the species. Intelligence was another matter, since most vampires spent their time hunting down humans to slaughter, or vampires to fight. Considering I wasn't vampire or human I should have been fine, but I seemed human enough to not attract their attention. Theoretically.

With a sigh I walked towards them, keeping my head down as I passed them. Unfortunately my instincts started to kick in then, and my vision sharpened at the same time I felt a harsh tug in my chest. I looked up and met the golden eyes of one of them, the skinny male with messy odd coloured hair. My eyes returned downwards not even a second later, but I knew that he had seen my eyes, pitch black and wide with shock and confusion.

I still felt his gaze on me as I sat down at the table, back facing the wall, not wanting them, or anyone else for that matter, to be able to sneak up on me. There was another tug in my chest as I let my hair fall into my face opening my eyes and letting the bones in my face rearrange themselves slightly, and the beginnings of my wings strained against my baggy sweatshirt, my back safely hidden from view. My thoughts cleared as I registered that they weren't human hunters, but rather preyed on animals. There hadn't been any tales of a coven living on that diet for hundreds of years to my knowledge, and it was rather odd that this one hadn't been discovered by any of the Halflings yet. The only thing that could mean is that they had the knowledge and the resources to stay hidden easily, and that they were very good at what they did; where they hunted, when they hunted, and how to stay hidden and out of human suspicions. I had to admit that going to school was a nice touch; it gave them excuse to live here and arise to much suspicion.

I sent a glance outside, and sure enough the cloud cover was back. I remembered the sunshine that was barely there throughout the previous of week and realized why the vampires hadn't been there the week before. But how did they know that the sun wouldn't come back later that day? I pondered over this until they all got up to leave, and once they were gone I visibly relaxed. My instincts retreated enough to let me change back, and I wanted to scold myself for my lack of control. The un-dead had had more control then I had, which was an insult to say the least. They had never been known for their control, when my kind prided themselves on it.

The bell rang shrilly through the room, and I discarded my uneaten lunch and headed towards biology class. I was still lost in thought when I got there, automatically heading towards my empty lab table, not realizing that it was not, in fact, empty anymore until I was a few feet away. I stopped in my tracks, nearly falling over from the abrupt change in speed, and was stunned to find that one of the vampires was sitting in the usually empty seat, looking terribly bored. I wouldn't have been as worried if it had been one of the others, but this was the one that had undoubtedly seen my eyes. With a soft shudder I forced myself to walk forward and sit down.

The first thing I felt when sitting down was that the soft pain that had always been there, the one I assumed to be normal and had learned to ignore, vanished. That surprised me to a large extent, since the pain had been there as long as I could remember. It was an odd coincidence that it chose now of all times to leave, but it was gone now and I wasn't about to start complaining. It hadn't bothered me before, but it did feel nice to have that gone. By now I had completely forgotten the vampire next to me until he spoke, his voice smooth and formal.

"You must be Bella Swan." He said, and I turned to look at him out of habit, and I found my heart rate increasing as our eyes met. "I'm Edward Cullen."

"You've been gone all week." I accused him, forgetting to greet him like most humans would have at this point. He didn't seem to mind though, and answered easily and without hesitation.

"My family and I go on camping trips whenever it is nice out, which is quite rare here so we always take the opportunity when it comes." He explained, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. Vampires who went camping? The idea was laughable, and I knew that they had probably gone hunting or something of the like.

"Camping." I repeated, and he looked at me with his golden eyes, which revealed nothing but curiosity, which bothered me to no end. He should not be curious about me, and could not find out that I was a Halfling as well. Only bad things would come of it if he did, a war being the worst of it.

"Yes, camping. With tents and campfires?" He gestured with his hands and I glared at him. He had clearly known what I meant, but had chosen to tease me instead. Stupid little vampire boy, thinking I was just another dim minded human. Which is what I had been aiming for originally, but it was still an insult for him to think that.

"I know what camping is." I snapped, muscles tightening. Just because he was a vampire and older then all of us didn't mean that everyone else was stupid. Well, I couldn't speak for the humans, two of which were flicking rubber bands at the girl in front of them and laughing their heads off, but I knew that I was far from unintelligent. My brain may not work as fast as his, but I could get pretty close if I wanted too. I turned stared straight ahead, fuming silently.

"Then why the speculation?" He asked, ignoring my anger, and I stubbornly refused to look back at him as I answered.

"Because from the looks of it, you really don't look like the camping type." I replied stiffly, and before he had a chance to try and continue the conversation the bell rang and the teacher started class. I knew I had been childish in my responses, but at the moment I could honestly care less.

Throughout the lesson I felt his gaze on me, and I resisted the urge to squirm and tell him to keep his eyes to himself. I did not feel comfortable with a vampire of all creatures staring at me, especially when no one would notice if he decided to drag me off to the woods to kill me. If he did manage to get me into the woods he would be in for a surprise though; I doubt he would expect his seemingly human prey to take flight. I smirked at the thought, and when I let my eyes wander over to the boy next to me his eyes were filled in confusion. _Ha, serves you right dead boy. _I thought and turned my eyes back to the front of the classroom just in time to hear the teacher assign us a lab to do with our lab partners.

Groans rang out through the classroom, and I resisted the urge to join them and bash my head against the table. Instead I pushed my chair back and headed towards the front of the room to retrieve the slides we were supposed to be looking at without a word to Edward. I assumed he would use that high-speed brain of his and get the microscope himself, because I could not be trusted with heavy metal objects that could easily break my foot if dropped.

The walk towards the front of the room went fine and I had almost reached the desk without incident, which was when my foot caught on a backpack strap and I pitched forward, barely managing to catch myself on the teacher's desk. The girls behind me giggled and I blushed, snatching the slides and hurrying back towards the lab table, tripping a few times on the way in my hurry. So much for making an impression of not being weak.

"Quite a trip you had there." Edward said as I put down the slides. I glared at him, the red still tainting my cheeks as I sat down.

"I know I'm clumsy." I snapped, glad to see that the microscope was already there and plugged in. "And I've had worse falls." I handed him a slide wordlessly, and he glanced into the microscope for a brief moment.

"I'm sure you've had." He said, scrawling down something on the paper. "And it's metaphase." I grabbed the microscope, trying to prove him wrong, but found that it was, in fact, metaphase. I grabbed the next slide and put it under the microscope, identifying it as interphase. Edward pulled the microscope back carefully, and I saw him frown when he realized I was right.

"Smarter then you thought, aren't I?" I smirked, replacing the slide in the little box.

"I never said you weren't." Edward pointed out, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Just because one doesn't say something doesn't mean that they never thought it." I replied.

"You can't read my thoughts though." He answered, identifying another slide before sliding the microscope over to me with a pale hand.

"And you can't read mine." I responded, and when I looked at him I saw confusion and anger flit through his eyes before they returned to their normal state. His reaction confused me, why would be surprised by this fact, or even disappointed? It was a known fact that the thoughts of others could not be read anywhere but in books.

I shook my head to dispose of the thought and looked back into the microscope at the last slide. I told him the answer then dropped my head onto my folded arms, watching as the rest of the groups struggled with the simple activity. Some of the groups hadn't even started yet, and even more of them were still on the first slide.

The teacher came over to our table with a disapproving look, and without a word Edward handed him our paper. Glancing over it, the teacher nodded then gave him a small glare.

"You should have let Miss Swan do some of the work." Chided the teacher.

"Actually, I identified half of them." I told him, angry that he would think so lowly of my intelligence. Did I have a sign on my back that said 'Hello, I'm stupid', or did I just give off the stupid vibe.

"Oh, well then, I see that you two are well matched." He stuttered, stumbling off to another lab table, one where the students had a biology book open under the table. I dropped my head back to my folded arms, looking straight ahead.

"That was pretty impressive." Edward said from beside me. I turned my head to look at him, where I saw confusion and surprise in his eyes. It seemed to be a common expression for him, and I started to think that maybe he wasn't as intelligent as he looked.

"What was?" I asked, moving a chunk of hair from in front of my eyes. "Snapping at the teacher?"

"Most students aren't going to snap at the teacher for fear of being punished." He answered, and a smile flitted across my face.

"Unless the teacher is more wary of you then you are of him." I answered, causing Edward to raise an eyebrow at me.

"You've got more nerve then most then." He stated just before the bell rang, the corner of his mouth raising slightly as he fought off a smile.

"That or I was just born this way." I said before getting up and slipping out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway. The first thing I realized was that the second I had left the room the pain was back. I hadn't expected it to last, but I had hoped that it would have lasted a bit longer then an hour. The second thing I realized was the noise, something which had gone by completely unnoticed in biology. I took a second to adjust to it, then shouldered my bag and slipped through the hallway.

I made it to my next class without a problem, and wasn't to surprised when he came in and sat next to me. I ignored him and groaned as it started to rain, letting my head fall to the table. Feeling the soft pain in my head I realized the one in my chest had gone again, a mild surprise since it had only returned for a few minutes. I was pretty sure that the one and off pain would be substantially more annoying then if it was there at a constant, and it bothered me even more that now I knew what it felt like to live without the pain.

"You don't like it here very much do you?" Asked Edward from my side, and I turned my head to glare at him.

"Obviously." I said, turning my face back towards the floor, hoping he would drop it at that. But no, he continued, persistent as ever. At this rate he would start to annoy me as much as Mike.

"Then why did you come here? It doesn't seem like your parents moved." He continued, and I sat up with a sigh, wondering why I was even going to answer his question.

"Because my mother had finally found her true love or whatever, and they went off and got married." I said. "And so I decided that I would leave by my own devices before she decided to kick me out, and I came here because of the low population and the landscape." I snapped, and he raised his eyebrows at me.

"I doubt your mother would kick you out of the house just because she got married." He told me, and I gave him a harsh look. He knew nothing of my kind, and the traditions of it. Even if he did, he did not know my mother, who had probably already forgotten me by now.

"Well then, you've obviously have never dealt with my family. I'm lucky I got to stay there as long as I did."

"Then why here, of all places, if you hate the rain so much? From the looks of it you have no relatives here." What was with all the questions? And why was he so damn curious? I doubted that he could have figured out something by now, but I continued rather then pay attention to the part of my brain yelling at me to shut up and ignore him.

"There are a lot of big trees and wildlife." I grumbled as the bell rang.

"Nature lover then?" Edward asked, desperately trying to figure me out, but without avail.

"You could say that." I said with a smile, turning towards the front of the room to listen to the pudgy little Spanish teacher rambling on about the proper use of adjectives in sentences, the smile widening when I heard an agitated sigh from next to me.

Luckily I didn't share my last class with any of the vampires, for I feared that it would not end well if I did. If I let something slip in front of the humans, I could always react fast enough to make it seem like they were just seeing things. But if I was dealing with creatures who were faster then a cheetah on steroids, complete with photographic memory and vision that easily surpassed that of a hawk, I wasn't about to take my chances.

The final bell finally rang and I followed the chatty girls into the locker room, changing quickly so I could get out of here as quickly as possible. I had been high strung all day, and the littlest thing could set me off. I needed to get home, or just into the forest and out of view.

By the time the rest of the girls were putting their shoes on I was halfway across the parking lot, making a straight shot for the woods. I was at the end of the parking lot and only a few meters away from safety when a bright red sports car went roaring by me. I stumbled backwards in surprise, tripping over my own feet several times before coming to a complete stop. I whirled around in time to see the car speeding off and my lips curled at the dangerous habits of vampires, and how close they had been to spilling blood without even baring their teeth. I had just turned to stalk off into the woods when I heard someone call my name. My automatic reaction was to turn, and I saw none other then the vampire I had been trying so hard to avoid.

"Are you all right? I apologize for my siblings nearly running you over there." He said, and I gave him a pointed look.

"I'm fine." I told him, turning to walk off, my bag bumping against the side of my leg. I heard the tires crackle on the gravel as it rolled forward a few feet.

"How do you plan on getting home?" Edward asked, driving with one hand as the other arm rested on the door.

"Walking." I lied.

"Would you like a ride? By the looks of it it's about to start pouring." He persisted, and I gave him a look.

"Luckily I don't melt when I come into contact with water. Besides, it won't take me long to get home." Edward gave me a wary look.

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure. " I told him with conviction, turning to head back towards the forest.

"See you tomorrow then." He finished, and I raised a hand in acknowledgment, not looking back as I disappeared between the trees.

I knew I should have been careful, more so then the previous days, but a few feet into the forest I took of my jacket and tied it to my bag and moments later wings were set on my back, and I wasn't even a hundred meters away from the edge of the trees. But at the moment I could have cared less, and I rushed forward, taking a few long strides before throwing myself into the air. I was met by a torrent of rain as I got higher, the cold drops bouncing off my skin.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, but I had a lot of stuff going on the last week or so. But hey, this chapter is almost twice as long as the former. :D And Edward finally makes an entrance, so that should appease everyone.**

**Anyways, make sure to look for a new chapter soon.**

**Lily  
**


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